Generate a follow-up sequence
Pick a procedure and track. The sequence below auto-personalizes with the patient's first name and dates. Hit "Save to Roster" to track which messages have gone out.
Patient Roster
Patients you've saved. Click to load their sequence and mark messages sent.
Bonus Systems — Stay In Front Of Patients
These run alongside your follow-up sequences. Most are triggered by date or behavior, not by treatment.
Front Desk & Treatment Coordinator Scripts
Drop-in language for the most common follow-up moments. Casual, conversational, on-brand.
Objection Handlers
When a patient pushes back, here's how to respond — by procedure.
How to put this system into action
- Pick your sending tools. Email through your PMS (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental) or a tool like Weave, Solutionreach, NexHealth, or Mailchimp. Texts through Weave, Podium, RingCentral, OhMD, or your PMS texting feature.
- Map this app's day cadence to your tool. Each row in a sequence has a Day number — that's days from the visit/diagnosis date. Most tools call this a "drip campaign" or "automation."
- Tag patients in your PMS with their procedure category (Implant, Veneers, Invisalign, etc.) and treatment status (Diagnosed-Unscheduled, In-Progress, Completed). Tags drive which sequence runs.
- Set auto-pause rules. If a patient books an appointment or replies, the sequence stops. Almost every tool above supports this — turn it on, your patients will thank you.
- Get HIPAA-friendly opt-in language on your intake forms. "Yes, I'd like to receive email and text reminders from [practice]" with a separate checkbox for marketing. Skip this and you risk fines.
- Test with yourself first. Before unleashing on patients, run yourself through every sequence. Catch the typos, the broken links, the awkward phrasing.
- Review monthly. Open rates, reply rates, conversion (diagnosed → scheduled). Trim what isn't working.
KPIs worth tracking
Conversion metrics
- Diagnosed → Scheduled rate (target: 65%+ within 60 days)
- Treatment plan acceptance (target: 75%+)
- Same-day vs delayed scheduling split
- Average days from diagnosis to scheduling
Engagement metrics
- Email open rate (industry benchmark ~30%)
- Email click rate (~3-5%)
- SMS reply rate (target: 8%+)
- Unsubscribe rate (keep below 0.5%)
Retention metrics
- Recall reactivation rate (12-month dormant)
- Annual retention (% of patients who return within 13 months)
- Lifetime visits per patient
Growth metrics
- New Google reviews per month (target: 10+)
- Referral rate (% of new patients from existing)
- Average review rating (target: 4.8+)
- Before/after photos collected per month
Compliance & consent — read this once
This isn't legal advice — confirm with your compliance counsel — but here's the practical version.
- HIPAA basics: Anything that ties a treatment to a person (e.g., "Your implant follow-up...") is PHI. Use secure platforms — Weave, NexHealth, RingCentral Healthcare are HIPAA-friendly. Generic "Hi from [practice]!" texts are lower-risk than ones naming procedures.
- Opt-in: Get patients to check "Yes, I'd like email and text reminders" on intake. Keep that record.
- Opt-out: Every email needs an unsubscribe link. Texts need "Reply STOP to opt out" on the first message of any sequence.
- Marketing vs. care: Recall reminders (you-need-a-cleaning) are care communication and have looser rules. Promotions ("get $200 off") are marketing — separate consent.
- TCPA (texting law): Don't text after 9pm or before 8am local time. Don't use auto-dialers without express written consent.